The Founding and Founders of 
Dickinson College 



By 

EDWARD W. BIDDLE 

President of the Board of Trustees 




Read in part before the Faculty and Students 
on Founders' Day, May 1, 1920 



y$>'P 



:^ 




DR. BENJAMIN RUSH 
AT THE AGE OF 63 



PORTRAIT 



THOMAS SULLY IN THE PENNSYLVANIA HOSPIT> 
PH I LADELPH I A 



THE FOUNDING AND FOUNDERS 
OF DICKINSON COLLEGE 



By 

EDWARD W. BIDDLE 

President of the Board of Trustees 



Read in part before the Faculty and Students 
on Founders' Day, May 1, 1920 




In April, 1751, the to\^n 
of Carlisle was laid out by 
order of Lieutenant Gover- 
nor James Hamilton on the 
west side of Le Tort's 
spring, and just thirty-one 
years later, on April 13, 
1782, it was incorporated 
as a borough. On Septem- 
ber 9, 1783, an act of the 
general assembly of Penn- 
sylvania was passed es- 
tablishing a college there 
*'for the education of youth 
in the learned and foreign 
languages, the useful arts, 
science and literature,'* to 
be forever known by the 
name of Dickinson College. 
It was thus designated, as recited in the act, *Tn memory 
of the great and important services rendered to his coun- 
try by his Excellency, John Dickinson, Esquire, president 
of the Supreme Executive Council, and in commemora- 
tion of his very liberal donation to the institution." 

Forty trustees were named in the charter — twelve of 
whom lived in Cumberland county, eight in the adjoining 
county of York, five in Philadelphia, three in Lancaster 



JOHN DICKINSON 

PORTRAIT BY C-iARLES WILLSON PEALE 
IN INDEPENDENCE HALL 



county, and two or one in each of the remaining eight 
counties that then existed, so that every section of the 
state was given representation on the board. Among 
the persons enumerated were fourteen ministers of the 
gospel, a fraction more than one-third of the total num- 
ber, and a provision was inserted that whenever a 
vacancy should happen by reason of the want of qualifi- 
cations, resignation or decease of any clergyman, such 
vacancy should be filled by the choice of another of any 
Christian denomination, whereby the number of the 
clergy should never be lessened. This provision was re- 
pealed in 1826, and the law now in force was adopted de- 
claring that not more than one-third of the trustees shall 
at any time be clergymen. 

It will be noticed that twenty of the trustees were 
selected from the counties of Cumberland and York, and 
that districts remote from Carlisle were given scant con- 
sideration in making up the personnel of the board. The 
reason for this becom.es apparent when we consider that 
those who lived within easy reach of the institution were 
more likely to take an active interest in its affairs, like- 
wise that the difficulties of attending meetings for those 
who lived at a distance were formidable. All of the 
highways at that time were indented with ruts, and often 
were covered with mud to such an extent that it was not 
uncommon for passengers to be compelled to alight from 
the vehicle in which they were riding for the purpose of 
helping to extricate it f lom th(^ mire. Even the main 
line of communication between Philadelphia and the 
west, which ran through Lancaster and Carlisle and 
thence to Pittsburgh, was in a deporable condition in 
comparison with modem standards. 

The double inquiry has frequently arisen, Why was a 
college founded in 1783 when the country was practical- 
ly bankrupt and seething with the spirit of unrest — and 
how did it happen that Carlisle was chosen as the most 
available place for its location? In seeking for an 
answer to these questions we learn that as early as 1773 
a grammar school had been established in Carlisle upon 
a town lot donated by Thomas Penn and John Penn for 
that purpose. According to the minutes of the Presby- 
tery of this (Donegal) district dated October 18, 1781, a 
number of gentlemen who had oversight of said school 
asked for a conference in regard to its affairs, to the end 
that the Presbytery would take the school under its care 
and would appoint a committee to examine it at least 

Gift •* 

Author 
JUN 14 1920 



twice a year. They represented that it was tnelr design 
to enlarge the plan and to apply to have it chartered as an 
academy. 

The church minutes record the following, 'The Pres- 
bytery heartily approved of the proceedings and laudable 
intentions of these gentlemen, and agreed to countenance 
the school as far as they could, and to appoint a commit- 
tee twice in the year to examine it and concur with them 
in every proper measure to advance the same to the most 
useful and respectable condition." Soon thereafter Dr. 
Benjamin Rush of Philadelphia, through circumstances 
that will be mentioned later, became interested in the pro- 
ject for expansion, but he favored a college instead of an 
academy. On September 3, 1782, he issued a paper 
styled ''Hints for Establishing a College at Carlisle, in 
Cumberland County, Pennsylvania," in which the advan- 
tages of such an institution are thus set forth : 

"In the present plentitude of the power of the Presbyteri- 
ans, let them obtain a charter for a college at Carlisle in Cum- 
berland county. The advantages of a college in this place 
are, 1st, It will draw the Presbyterians to one common cen^^^er 
of union. 2nd, It will be nearly central to the state, and will 
command the youth of the new and growing western counties 
and perh'aps states. 3rd, Education will be cheaper at Car- 
lisle than in any other equally improved village in the state. 
4th, The village of Carlisle is one of the most healthy spots in 
the state. 

"Let all the trustees, as well as the principal of the col- 
lege and the profes&ors and masters, be Presbyterians. This 
will be necessary in order to connect religion with learning, 
and in the present constitution of things religion cannot be in- 
culcated without a system or form of some kind." 

It was because of the incessant efforts of Dr. Rush 
that the desired charter was obtained at a seemingly in- 
auspicious time, a petition for the same having been pre- 
sented to the legislature by sundry residents of the town 
and county, and for many years he was the most poten- 
tial factor in the management of the institution. At its 
centennial Commencement in 1883 the Rev. Dr. George 
R. Crooks delivered a carefully prepared and able dis- 
course on "Dickinson College, The History of an Hundred 
Years", in which he said : 

"To Dr. Rush, of all the founders, belongs the honored 
name of Father of Dickinson College. What buoyant hopes 
were his! What unwavering love for the child of his affec- 



tions! In all the labors required, whether the collection of 
funds, the choosing of professors, the details of management, 
his energy and zeal were conspicuous above the energy and 
zeal of 'Other men. His letters to the trustees, written when 
he could not meet them, are full of the loving wisdom which 
always wins the affection and support of one's fellows. 'What- 
ever you conclude upon,' he writes in -one letter, 'shall find in 
me the same support as if it had been proposed by myself. I 
h'ave no will of my own in the great work of humanity in which 
we are engaged.' " 

At the time of the founding, so far as we can ascer- 
tain, there were only eleven other incorporated colleges in 
the country — two in New Jersey, two in Virginia, and 
one each in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode 
Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania and Mary- 
land. The remaining four of the original thirteen states 
had not yet made any provision of that kind. Probably 
one of the things that recommended Carlisle as a suitable 
place for the new institution was, that at the edge of the 
town stood a group of unoccupied buildings which had 
been used by the government during the war for the man- 
ufacture of guns and ammunition. This property, now 
used as an army hospital, was called by military men 
Washingtonburg, and is believed to have been the first 
place in the entire land that was accorded the honor of 
being named after America's foremost citizen — by the 
civilian population it was commonly referred to as "the 
public buildings", **the public works", or simply as **the 
works". 

On Monday, September 15, 1783, six days after the 
charter was granted, the initial meeting of the board of 
trustees was held at the house of John Dickinson in Phil- 
adelphia. Ten members were present, nine being suf- 
ficient to constitute a quorum. The charter was then 
read, and two justices of the peace having come into the 
room and administered the necessary oaths, an election 
was held for the office of president of the board . When 
the ballots were counted it appeared that John Dickinson 
had received nine votes and James Ewing one vote, 
whereupon it was declared that the former was elected. 
He accepted the position and continued to hold it until 
his death in 1808. A committee of three was appointed 
to draw up a commission and instructions for Willam 
Bingham, one of the Philadelphia trustees who was then 
in Europe, to solicit contributions abroad, and the same 
committee was instructed to provide books for receiving 



subscriptions at home. The meeting adjourned until 
the following Thursday evening at Dr. Rush's house on 
Second street. 

Nine trustees attended the second meeting, and after 
the transaction of some minor business adjourned to 
meet on the following afternoon at five o'clock at the 
Statehouse. Ten were present at the time and place ap- 
pointed for the third meeting, and all attached their 
names to a letter and duplicate thereof authorizing Mr. 
Bingham to obtain contributions in Europe. After a 
committee had been appointed to engage a minister of the 
Gospel, who must also be a member of the board, to pre- 
pare a sermon and prayer for delivery at the first meet- 
ing in Carlisle "in order that the day may be observed 
with a religious solemnity suitable to the occasion," the 
meeting adjourned to reconvene at the courthouse in Car- 
lisle on Tuesday, April 6, 1784. 

From the foregoing it will be noted that the first 
three meetings were held in Philadelphia within ten days 
after the granting of the charter. The fourth, a very 
important one, began in Carlisle on April 6, 1784, and 
continued for three days. Sixteen trustees were pres- 
ent and according to program went in procession to the 
Episcopal church where a sermon was delivered by Rev. 
John Black of York county. Later they went to the 
home of Col. John Montgomery, a resident trustee, where 
those not previously qualified took the oath of office, and 
they then adjourned to the courthouse and listened to a 
stimulating address by his Excellency, John Dickinson, 
who said in the course of his remarks : 

"When the inhabitants of this and the neighboring coun- 
ties observe your faithful labors for communicating to their 
youth the treasures -of science collected by the wise and good 
of all nations, what father can be so cruel as not to strive that 
his child shall p'artake of the distribution. Miserably will he 
deceive himself by supposing that any inheritance he can be- 
queath is to be compared to a well cultivated mind." 

It appeared that the productive funds of the college 
amounted to about 130 pounds per annum. Col. Mont- 
gomery, James Wilson and Dr. Rush were appointed a 
committee to negotiate for the purchase of the public 
works erected near Carlisle and the necessary land adja- 
cent thereto. A letter was read from Mr. Bingham to 
the trustees dated London, Dec. 29, 1783, informing 
them that owing to the present circumstances and dispo- 



sition of the people he had no hope of obtaining subscrip- 
tions there and must wait for a more favorable time . The 
Rev. Dr. Charles Nisbet of Montrose, Scotland, was 
unanimously elected principal of the college, and James 
Ross was chosen as professor of the Greek and Latin 
languages. 

It was resolved "that 250 pounds sterling, or the 
value thereof in Pennsylvania money, be the annual sal- 
ary allowed to Dr. Nisbet if he accept the place of princi- 
pal of the college; that his salary commence on the day 
of his embarkation ; that he have a house for the accom- 
modation of himself and family; and that a bill of 50 
pounds sterling be immediately transmitted to him to as- 
sist in defraying the expense of his passage to this coun- 
try." President Dickinson and Dr. Rush reported the de- 
scription of a seal, with appropriate device and motto, 
which was adopted and has been retained ever since. Ad- 
journment was had to the last Tuesday of September, 
1784, at Carlisle. 

The enthusiastic Dr. Rush forthwith started a 
stream of letters to Dr. Nisbet for the purpose of 
removing any objections he might have to accepting the 
office of '"principal", which at that time was the official 
title of the head of the college, and remained so until by 
an order of court in 1879 the word "president'' was sub- 
stituted. In a letter dated May 15, 1784, he informed 
Dr. Nisbet that the public "destine our college to be the 
First in America under your direction and government," 
and closed with this pressing invitation : 

"We expect to see you this fall. I beg upon your arrival 
in our river, near our city, that you would convey notice of it 
to me. My carriage shall be ready at a moment's warning to 
conduct Mrs. Nisbet to my house, where I shall insist that you 
and your \vhole family make your home till you set out for Car- 
lisle. Adieu — Yours — Yours sincerely." 

But an unexpected event happened several months 
later when President Dickinson conceived that the re- 
cently elected legislature might repeal the charter, or at 
least might do something to impede the development of 
the college. On October 25, 1784, without consultation 
with any of the other trustees, he expressed his fears on 
the subject to Dr. Nisbet in a letter which closed with 
this alarming paragraph, "I therefore think myself 
bound in honor, and in justice to you and your family, 



earnestly to request that you will not think of coming to 
America to act as principal of that institution until I can 
assure you that the prospect is much more favorable than 
it appears at present to be." 

Apparently more than two weeks passed before his 
associates heard of this letter, and then they were filled 
with amazement and consternation. Concerning it Dr. 
Rush wrote on November 13, 1784, *'It is big with ruin 
to our hopes and prospects at Carlisle. I am at a loss to 
account for this most extraordinary act in Mr. Dickin- 
son f and twelve days later Rev. John Black in a letter to 
Dr. Rush gave vent to his chagrin in the following dole- 
ful outburst, " Oh, Dickinson, what hast thou done? 
Should not a sense of honor, of gratitude, yea of every 
virtuous principle, have chained thy hand from writing 
the baleful scrawl? Heavens avert the mischief it was 
calculated to effect!" 

For a few days after the contents of the obnoxious 
epistle berame known the writer of it positively refused 
to recant the advice he had given, and when Dr. Rush 
earnestly urged him to do so, he made the reply *'It be- 
comes us to act with prudence;" to which Dr. Rush 
warmly retorted that "Prudence where honor is con- 
cerned is a rascally virtue." But reflection caused 
President Dickinson to change his mind, and on Novem- 
ber 15 he wrote to Dr. Nisbet that the prospect had be- 
come more favorable and that he (Nisbet) might entirely 
confide in what several of the trustees were writing him 
by the same mail. The communication referred to, 
which was signed by four members of the board, set forth 
that the apprehensions of Mr. Dickinson were wholly 
without foundation, that he had written the letter of Oc- 
tober 25 without the knowledge of his colleagues, and 
that the subscribers were fully of the opinion that the 
charter of the college was as secure as any private prop- 
erty in the state. Thus the incident closed and harmony 
was again restored. 

It is only just to Mr. Dickinson to state that many 
thoughtful persons concurred in his judgment that the 
opening bf the institution ought to be deferred until a 
more propitious season, and some indeed went so far as 
to doubt the propriety of establishing it at all. The 
prospect was exceedingly bleak. In November, 1782, 
five Presbyterian ministers who had assembled in Car- 
lisle addressed a communication to Dr. Rush setting 



forth objections to a denominational college, which they 
believed would tend to alarm other Christian bodies and 
would entail too partial an application of public property. 
Gen. John Armstrong, a Presbyterian elder of Carlisle, 
sternly discountenanced the scheme for financial reasons, 
and it required the importunity of Dr. Rush to induce 
him to withdraw his opposition. In a letter to Dr. Rush 
written in April, 1783, he announced that while the peti- 
tions for a charter would meet with no further impedi- 
ment from him, his opinion was not in the least altered. 
The Rev. Dr. Samuel Miller, who was a theological stu- 
dent at the college in 1791-2 and the author of a biog- 
raphy of Dr. Nisbet, has left on record his conviction that 
the college was not called for either by the resources of 
the country, or by its literary wants ; for the institutions 
at Philadelphia and Princeton furnished more means of 
instruction than could receive adequate patronage, and 
the small number of students in both showed plainly that 
another was not required. 

Not long after graduation the present speaker pre- 
pared a historical sketch of Carlisle, containing the fol- 
lowing rather effusive reference to the college in which 
the same point of view was assumed : 

"A matter of great importance in the history of Carlisle 
was the foundation of Dickinson College in the year 1783. Al- 
though its birth, like that of Macduff, was premature, its in- 
fluence on the borough has been marked. The constant asso- 
ciati'on of the faculty and the students with the people has 
established among the latter a higher intellectual tone; the 
ponderous and erudite lectures of the professors, the well- 
crammed conversation of the upper classmen and the showy 
volubility of the freshmen, each working in its own way lor 
the common end." 

On November 28, 1784, Dr. Rush wrote to Dr. 
Nisbet : 

"I cannot omit an opportunity which offers tomorrow by 
the way of London, of informing you that I have written three 
letters to you within these three weeks, in each of which 1 
have given you such assurance of the safety and flourishing 
state of our college as will determine you to embark in the 
spring for Pennsylvania... We have allotted a room in our 
house for your reception, which goes by the name of 'Dr. Nis- 
bet's room'. My little folks often mention your name, espe- 
cially my boys, who have been taught to consider you as their 
future master. Possibly this will be the last letter you will 
receive from me on the other side of the Atlantic. To the 

10 



direction and protection of Heaven I commit you. till I tako 
you by the l^and on the peaceful shores of Pennsylvania. 
Adieu! Adieu!" 

The anxiously-awaited scholar sailed with his wife 
and two sons and two daughters from Greenock, Scot- 
land, on April 23, 1785, and landed at Philadelphia on 
June 9. They went at once to the hospitable home of 
Dr. Rush on Second street and remained there for exactly 
three weeks, until they started on the last lap of their 
journey to Carlisle. That they made a most favorable 
impression upon their host is apparent from the tone of 
his letters to Col. Montgomery, On June 14, 1785, he 
wrote : 

"I cannot tell you how many friends he (Dr. Nisbet) has 
made in our city. His preaching is sensible and elegant, and 
his conversation and agreeable manners charm everybody... 
I am so chained down to his company that I regret leaving him 
for a moment to attend my business. Indeed, my friend, in 
the arrival of Dr. Nisbet I conceive a new Sun is risen upon 
Pennsylvania. His whole soul is set upon doing good, and his 
capacity for it has seldom I believe been exceeded by any 
man's in this country... All the first people in our city have 
taken him by the hand. He is overcome with the attentions 
of our citizens to him." 

On June 20 : 

"Dr. Nisbet has charmed everybody with his preaching and 
conversation. I rejoice to hear that you are preparing to re- 
ceive him so politely. He is pleased with everything he sees 
and hears. Indeed, sir, he deserves everything from our 
hands. The people of Montrose offered to make his salary 
equal to ours if he would stay among them. But he refused; 
he saw the hand of G^od in his invitation to Carlisle and did 
not dare to decline it. We owe his coming here, next to the 
good providence of God, entirely to his benevolence, for he ap- 
pears to be the most disinterested man I ever met with. He 
talks of nothing but of advancing his Master's interests in our 
country. The more I see of him, the more I love and admire 
him. . . I have advertised the Doctor's arrival in all our 
papers, and beg you would send me a particular account of the 
manner of his reception at Carlisle and I will dress it up for 
the press. I have advised the Dr. to yield to the importunities 
of two gentlemen in this place, by faking their sons to board 
in his house. He must have a generous price, at least 50 
pounds a year; 6 boys will yield 300 pounds a year, which will 
be a great help to us for a few years ... I join with you, my 
dear friend, in adoring the goodness of God in bringing our 

II 



work to perfection. Who would not trust, who would not hon- 
our, such a God— who out of we'akness has begat strength, who 
has defeated the malice of our enemies." 

On July 1, the day after his guests had departed : 

"Did I not tell you so? Is not every hope and wish grati- 
fied in him. Indeed, my friend he has stolen so much upon my 
affections that his absence has left a blank both in my heart 
and family." 

On the Fourth of July, 1785, Dr. Nisbet arrived at 
Carlisle with his wife and children, and on the following 
day in the Presbyterian Church that still stands on the 
public square took the oath of office and delivered an in- 
augural sermon, one of the few of his discourses that he 
allowed to be printed. In the Pennsylvania Gazette of 
July 20, 1785, there is a spirited description by a Carlisle 
correspondent of the reception extended to him. It 
there appears that about two o'clock in the afternoon of 
July 4 he and his family were met at Spring Forge — 
now Boiling Springs — by nearly a hundred ladies and 
gentlemen, and after he had been introduced to the whole 
company they sat down to an elegant entertainment in a 
bower erected for that purpose. The afternoon was 
spent in an agreeable manner, the newcomers receiving 
much attention and many congratulations. 

In the evening they all rode into town together, and 
on the following day the professors of the college con- 
ducted the students in procession to the church where 
many of the prominent inhabitants had assembled. James 
Ross, professor of languages, arose and delivered an ad- 
dress in Latin to Dr. Nisbet, congratulating him on his 
safe arrival and expressing anticipation of great benefit 
to the college and to the state from his taking charge of 
the institution. This was succeeded by an address in 
English by one of the students. To the former the Doctor 
made a polite reply in Latin, to the latter in English. We 
learn from another source that he then preached a ser- 
mon designed to show the importance of the union of 
learning and piety, the text being from Acts VII, 22: 
''And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyp- 
tians, and was mighty in words and in deeds . " 

A letter from Dr. Nisbet to Dr. Rush written on 
July 18, 1785, contained an account of the trip from Phil- 
adelphia, disclosing that the travelers set out from that 
city on Thursday, June 30, doubtless quite early in the 
morning, and arrived at their destination on the evening 
of Monday, July 4. The letter said: 

12 



"We reached the Waggon Inn on the first day and arrived 
at Lancaster next day by one o'cloclc. There we were con- 
strained to stay until next day by the hospitality of the inhabi- 
tants. We reached York the third day and staid there till 
Monday. I preached for Mr. Campbell in the afternoon, in 
great weakness on account of the heat. We left York on Mon- 
day the 4th, breakfasted at the half-way house, and were met 
by the Light Itorse belonging to Carlisle at the Yellow 
Breeches creek, by whom we were conducted to the Boiling 
Springs near the Iron Works, Here we found the inhabitants 
of Carlisle assembled to celebrate the anniversary of the Dec- 
lar'ation of Independence. We dined in the open air under a 
canopy of oaken leaves, in imitation of the Jewish Feast oT 
Tabernacles, and after visiting the Iron Works proceeded in 
the evening to Carlisle attended by the company." 

Soon after their arrival the Doctor and some mem- 
bers of his famliy were attacked by severe sickness which 
they ascribed to the intense heat and unfavorable climate, 
the Doctor's sufferings being so protracted that he be- 
came unfit for work and much discouraged by the out- 
look. The consequence was that at a meeting of the trus- 
tees on October 19, 1785, he presented the following let- 
ter of resignation : 

"I, Charles Nisbet, Doctor in Divinity and elected Principal 
•of Dickinson College, taking into my serious consideration the 
very bad state of my health and that of my family since I ar- 
rived in this country, which still continues, and concluding 
from the great distress occasioned by heat which I and my 
family endured and are still enduring that this climate does 
not agree with my constitution, do therefore resign into the 
nands of the Honorable Trustees of Dickinson College now met 
my said office of Principal to which I was by them elected, 
with the whole salary and emoluments thereof from this day 
forward, proposing to sail for Scotland as soon as possible for 
the recovery of my health. I hope the Trustees will be con- 
vinced that nothing but absolute necessity could have dictated 
such a measure, inasmuch as I had dedicated myself to the ser- 
vice of that institution over which they preside, and would still 
prove it had not the hand of God disabled me from any exercise 
of that sort. It is therefore with the utmost regret on account 
of the interests of the institution that I find myself obliged to 
resign my said office, but I must submit to it as the will of God. 
I hope the Trustees will consider the great loss I have sus- 
tained in health and circumstances, being now without a charge 
in a distant country, unable to subsist or remove myself at my 
own expense and having no benefice to return to." 



13 



The trustees accepted the resignation with the ut- 
most rehictance, and closed the letter notifying him of 
their action with these kindly words : 

"However as the hand of God appears to be in this event, 
it becomes us to submit and we have therefore accepted of 
your resignation. Seeing you are determined to return to 
your native land we have made such disposition as will allevi- 
ate the burden of this undertaking, and earnestly pray that 
Almighty God may protect you and your family in your voyage, 
restore you to your health and greatly promote your happiness 
and usefulness in future life. With the highest sense of your 
personal worth and full conviction of your ability and fitness 
to have saved the interests of the institution under our care, 
had your health permitted, we remain affectionately yours, 
«&c." 

At a meeting of the trustees in August the Rev. Dr. 
Robert Davidson, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in 
Carlisle, had been elected professor of history, geogra- 
phy, chronology, rhetoric and belles lettres, and Robert 
Tait had been employed ''to teach the students to read and 
write the English language with elegance and propriety." 
After accepting the resignation of Dr. Nisbet, the board 
''resolved unanimously that Dr. Davidson be appointed to 
superintend the college until next May, with all the pow- 
ers necessary to governing the same as principal pro tem- 
pore agreeably to the charter." 

A resolution was adopted to pay Dr. Nisbet's salary 
to date and the expenses of his return to Scotland.' In 
furtherance of this the trustees residing in Carlisle were 
appointed a committee to convey him and his family to 
Philadelphia, and Col. Henry Hill and Dr. Rush of that 
city were requested to arrange for their passage on a 
vessel, but later events obviated the need for such ac- 
tion. On account of the hardships of travel in cold 
weather it became necessary to defer the journey until 
spring. In the meanwhile the bracing winter of the 
Cumberland Valley exercised a curative influence on the 
invalids, their strength and spirits were revived, and 
contemporaneously the desire to recross the Atlantic van- 
ished. Consequently on February 2, 1786, Dr. Nisbet 
addressed a communication to Gen. John Armstrong, 
acting president of the board of trustees, indicating his 
willingness to remain : 

"Sir: 

Having now by the Divine Goodness recovered my health, 

and retaining the same affection to this country which led me 

14 



to abandon my native soil, I beg the favour that you would 
communicate to the trustees this unexpected change in my sit- 
uation. Could I have hoped for such a thing in October last 
this trouble would have been unnecessary, but at that time 
having nothing but death or incompetency in view and wishing 
only to convey my family back to their relations, I was advised 
to resign my charge that the trustees might proceed to the 
election of a successor. As this h'as not been done, my pres- 
ent situation, their own feelings and the earnestness with 
which they invited me formerly, will suggest to them what is 
fit to be done on this occasion. Begging that you would take 
the earliest opportunity of communicating this to the trustees, 
I am, with sincere esteem, Sir, your very humble servant." 

The improved condition of affairs likewise appears 
from a letter written by Dr. Nisbet to the Earl of 
Buchan, one of his steadfast friends in Scotland, on April 
20, 1786: 

"I informed your lordship some months ago of my resolu- 
tion to leave this country, in which indeed I have met with 
many discouragements and dis'appointments ; but as It pleased 
God to restore my health in December last, and many people 
were still earnest for my staying, I intimated to the trustees 
my willingness to resume my former office, to which I hope to 
be re-elected in May next." 

In accordance with that hope he was unanimously 
re-elected on May 10, 1786, to the office which he had re- 
linquished in the previous fall and at once resumed its 
duties, but that there had been a decided clash of opinion 
as to the wisdom of retaining him is revealed by the fol- 
lowing extract from a letter dated Marsh Creek, Febru- 
ary 15, 1786, written by Rev. John Black to Dr. Rush : 

"You inform me that President Dickinson is against the re- 
election of Dr. Nisbet; you 'also inform me that this is your 
own judgment, and in his room have named Mr. S. Smith. Gen. 
Armstrong and his party, it is said, are now fixed on Dr. Nis- 
bet, whilst Col. Montgomery, etc., are determined for Dr. David- 
son. In this chaos of jarring principles and opinions, what 
shall we do? Never was the motto more applicable, 'Unite 
or die'. Wh'at pity it is that having escaped Scylla and 
Charybdis, we should be cast away upon a Syrtis, and that too 
in the very entrance of the wished for haven. Let us, my 
friend, endeavor to prevent the melancholy disaster." 

The fact is that an acute situation developed shortly 
after Dr. Nisbet was inducted into office, creating com- 
plications that can best be illustrated by selections 
from the correspondence of Dr. Rush. At the Ridg- 

15 



way Library in Philadelphia, which was founded 
and endowed under the will of James Rush M. D. (1786- 
1869), third son of Dr. Benjamin Rush, a large part of 
the latter's papers and correspondence is preserved in 
forty-four handsomely bound folio volumes. The por- 
tion relating to Dickinson College fills volumes 41 and 42, 
and from their contents much may be gleaned in regard 
to the trials and tribulations of the founders. The period 
covered extends from September 3, 1782, to February 6, 
1813. 

Incidentally the letters display some of the little 
frailties of human nature which in people of note are al- 
ways entertaining. In the instance at hand these 
foibles do not indicate anything worse than an impetuous 
and rather domineering disposition on the part of Dr. 
Rush, and what Gen. Armstrong termed an undue 
''temerity and strength of expression" on the part of Dr. 
Nisbet. Both wanted to do what was strictly right and 
proper in the matter, yet they were so unlike in tempera- 
ment and their points of view were so essentially differ- 
ent that neither could find any merit in the position of the 
other. However, their sudden antagonism gradually 
faded away, as was to be expected, and no appreciable in- 
jury was done to the college. On September 2, 1785, Dr. 
Rush wrote to Col. Montgomery : 

"I beg you would call on General Armstrong as soon as you 
have read this letter, and ask him in my name for a sight of my 
letter to him dated this day. It will unfold a melancholy talo 
to you. The whole must be kept as private as possible. By 
prudent management all may yet end well. You and the Gen- 
eral must concur in soothing the Doctor and in reconciling him 
to our country. I have written three long letters to him in 
which I have opened fully to him the prospects of usefulness, 
honor and happiness that await him in his present important 
station." 

On November 28, 1785 : 

"I hear from a variety of reports and private accounts that 
it is probable the Dr. will not return to Scotland. Poor man. 
I have constantly considered him as insane, his wife as foolish, 
and his son Tom as worse than both. If he concludes to stay, 
I take it for granted he will be re-elected. We cannot do 
otherwise without incurring the folly of instability and thereby 
of resembling himself. I think as we have a new bargain to 
make with him, we ought to offer him only 300 pounds a year 
currency, until the college and his reputation recover from the 
blow they have both received by his late conduct." 

16 



On February 20, 1786 : 

"It is time to forget and forgive all Dr. Nisbet's failings. 
But if anybody denies his having complained of our country, 
you may tell them that he has lately received a severe letter 
from one of our countrymen to whom he had vented his com- 
plaints. This was done before he had concluded to stay in 
our country. He now writes in a different style. I have writ- 
ten a long letter to him and advised him to accept of 300 
pounds for the first year or two, till he recovers his former 
character. I find Mr. King is opposed to his having his old 
salary. Poor man! I shall always believe that his fever af 
fected his intellect." 

On July 21, 1786 : 

"Mr. Peters, who is lately returned from Europe, says the 
British and Irish papers were filled with extracts from his (Dr. 
Nisbet's) letters, in which he complains of having been de- 
ceived and that he found neither students nor funds at our col- 
lege, and that he was particularly dissatisfied with the town of 
Carlisle. If he should live an 100 years, he can never atone 
for the mischef he has done our college and country in Britain 
and Ireland. After writing these letters, which I tam sure were 
genuine, what must he think of demanding his salary and 
treating me like a rogue and scoundrel in all his letters to his 
friends, for kindly advising him not to quarrel about his salary 
lest he should lose his election altogether." 

The above extracts clearly show that there were two 
principal sources of dissension. One was a series of 
pessimistic letters written by Dr. Nisbet to various per- 
sons, mainly to his friends in Scotland, in which he 
charged that misrepresentation and deceit had been used 
to induce him to come to Carlisle where he found condi- 
tions to be almost intolerable. The other was a pro- 
posal by some of the trustees, including Dr. Rush, to de- 
crease his salary from 250 pounds sterling in British 
money to 300 pounds in Pennsylvania currency, upon the 
ground that the college had not sufficient income to pay 
a larger amount. 

By an act of assembly passed in 1777 the value of a 
pound in Pennsylvania currency was fixed at slightly less 
than two-thirds of a pound sterling, therefore such pro- 
cedure would have decreased the compensation more 
than twenty per cent. Although according to strict law 
the contract with Dr. Nisbet was terminated by his resig- 
nation, yet his contention that the trustees were under a 
moral obligation to continue the salary as originally fixed 

17 



met with general approval, and when subsequently the 
subject came before the board for discussion was sus- 
tained by an overwhelming majority. He wrote long 
letters to Dr. Rush on February 27 and March 15, 1786, 
from which a few citations are taken in order to clarify 
the issues. In the former he said : 

"I wrote you several times, but have received no answer. 
I know not to what secret influence I must impute this extra- 
ordinary phonemenon. I am not conscous of having offended 
or injured any individual in this country, and yet it seems 
there are (those) among them who malign and misrepresent 
me, and have had the address to persuade my professed friends 
of the verity of their slanders, though they have not the cour- 
age to show their faces or tell their names ... In whatever 
light these creatures may endeavor to misrepresent me, I can 
assure you that in Europe I never lost a friend except by death. 
The friends of my youth are the friends of my mature age, and 
those who were my friends at twelve years of age continue to 
be so still with increased, instead 'Of diminished, esteem." 

He then stamped as absurd a rumor that the conduct 
of his family had been such as to do harm to the college, 
and scornfully referred to the dishonor of the proposal to 
reduce his salary because of a shortage of funds. The 
letter concluded: 

"Your own heart will tell you how unjust it is to propose 
to a man who has been ruined by following your advice, other 
terms than those which were voluntarily offered him when 
happy in an honorable and independent station, whose only 
crime in his own country was a p'artiality to America, and 
whose only transgression here is wishing that it were happier, 
I shall still hope to hear, at least from some other person, that 
your mind is sensible to the force of truth, and delivered from 
the prejudices that slanderers have attempted to raise in it 
against. Dear Sir, your much injured humble servant." 

On March 15, 1786 : 

"I have received your strange performance of the 19th ult.. 
which exhibits a sadder picture of human nature than anything 
I ever saw. Your letters to me in Scotland and those I re- 
ceived since August last seem to be written by two different 
persons of the m-ost opposite characters that can be conceived. 
What prejudice you have conceived at me, God only knows. I 
am conscious that I have never offended you, yet I have re 
ceived more pain from you than from all the children of men. 
You were to me instead of all the world. By your persuasions 
and promises I abandoned a secure, useful and honorable sta- 

18 



tion, and upon your word and solemn affirmations trusted my- 
self to the honour of persons whom I knew not. . . For what 
is the 300 pounds currency that you gravely advise me to ac- 
cept of? It is not equivalent to 60 pounds in Scotland accord- 
ing to the rate of living here, with which I am too well ac- 
quainted to need information. Mr. Montgomery told me on 
my arrival here that 100 pounds in the old country would go 
much farther than double the sum here. I thought he might 
be mistaken, but I find^by experience and calculation that his 
information is time and accurate... I was promised a house 
and garden. The prom^ise is yet unperformed. I have only 
had a pestilential and unwholesome house, or one that can 
scarcely be called a house of any kind. I am advised to leave 
this place, but no house is to be found in town. Where are the 
fine promises made me, where shall I go? I must either be 
stifled here, or take rooms in a pubic house. I am deprived of 
the satisfaction of doing my duty and performing some service 
to mankind, which was my greatest enjoyment in former 
times. I am confined to the life of a monk; to pray for the 
prosperity, and lament the iniquities, of mankind. Never 
since your persecuting letters began have I enjoyed a happy 
day or an easy night. I have not been happy even in imagi- 
nation." 

The reference in the last letter to his ''pestilential 
and unwholesome house" was drawn forth by the circum- 
stance that at the outstart he was compelled to live on the 
government property, which was surrounded by swamp 
land. The malaria arising from its soggy soil had caused 
the illness of himself and family in the summer, of which 
he had a lively recollection ; and although in August a 
house in town was secured for him, it appears from the 
letter that he had gone back to the first location. That 
his return took place in the fall or early winter may be 
inferred from the following vigorous letter of remon- 
strance and warning addressed by Dr. Rush to Col. Mont- 
gomery on September 9, 1785 : 

"I tremble at the Dr.'s family going back to the works. 
They are considered here as a pest house. Mr. Peters says 
it took nearly as much money during the war to buy medicines 
for the artificers as would maintain a regiment. Let me con- 
jure you not to permit them to return till after the frosts set in. 
I deliver this advice as a physician, a trustee, and a friend of 
the Doctor's famly. The works cannot be healthy until the 
1st of December... Had the advice I gave last winter with 
respect to draining the meadow been followed, how much dis- 
tress, expense and dishonor would it have saved us! If the 

19 



wet spring prevented you draining the meadow, why was Dr. 
Nisbet sent to the works ? . . . We had better rent the court- 
house, or make an addition to our schoolhouse, than receive 
the whole of the works as a gift for the college. While Major 
Wilson and Col. Blaine's dams remain on the spring, no power 
or expense will ever make them healthy. I question whether 
the village of Carlisle will be habitable much longer if those 
mill dams are not put upon another footing. Instead there- 
fore of renting the works, I would prefer rather removing the 
college to Chambersburg. The west end of your town may be 
kept healthy, but I despair of the east end being made so under 
present circumstances." 

At a meeting of the trustees in August, 1785, a re- 
port was received from those who resided in Carlisle that 
they had collected from the inhabitants a sum of money 
for draining the overflowed lands, and that they enter- 
tained the most sanguine expectations of rendering the 
place healthful in the highest degree. The ultimate re- 
sult of their efforts must have been entirely satisfactory 
to Dr. Rush, for on November 9, 1787, he wrote to Col. 
Montgomery recommending that he immediately call a 
meeting of the board in order to make an offer to con- 
gress for the government buildings ; and on April 9, 1788, 
he urged that no time be lost in purchasing a part of 
them, adding that one-half or one-third of the buildings 
would serve their present purpose. In January of 1788 
the board had instructed Gen. William Irvine and Hon. 
William Bingham to offer $20,000 for the property, and if 
it could not be obtained for that amount to go somewhat 
higher, or if congress chose to retain any part of it then 
to give a proportionate sum for the residue. 

But the negotiations were of no avail and the plant 
was never acquired, yet it furnished a home to Dr. Nisbet 
for a number of years, perhaps as long as he lived. On 
November 28, 1792, he wrote to Dr. Rush saying that he 
had been conducted to ''the works" by some of the trus- 
tees before he entered the town, and was informed that 
they were to be his residence and the seat of the college ; 
he added that at the time of writing he had a convenient 
house and garden there and knew by experience what a 
wretched lodging he had in the town, to which he feared 
the trustees proposed he should return. Whether that 
fear was ever realized we have been unable to discover, 
yet the borough tax lists show that in 1799 he was 
the owner of a house and two vacant lots in Carlisle. 
His residence at the works is alluded to in the journal of 

20 



John Penn (grandson of the illustrious William) who on 
a tour through the state came to Carlisle from Harris- 
burg on April 11, 1788, traveling on a road which en- 
tered the to^vn on the line of the present state highway. 
The distinguished visitor inserted this memorandum in 
his journal: 

"The first buildings seen here are three or four separate 
wings, intended for magazines originally, but said to be grant- 
ed by congress to the trustees of Dckinson College for twenty 
years, tho' upon inquiry I find they are negotiating, but have 
not concluded a bargain. The present college or schoolhouse 
is a small patched-up building about sixty by fifteen feet. The 
apartments of the public buildings are casually inhabited, and 
Dr. Nisbet, the head of the college, lives in one." 

It has been suggested that regular class exercises 
may have been carried on at the public works ; but beyond 
evidence found in the copy-book notes of a student that 
on March 18, 1789, Dr. Nisbet delivered a lecture on 
economics at Washingtonburg, nothing is at hand to sup- 
port the suggestion. The recognized seat of the college, 
from the date of the Doctor's arrival in 1785 until Old 
West was occupied about the close of 1805, was a building 
on Liberty alley near Bedford street that previously had 
been used for a grammar school. The original structure 
was destroyed by an incendiary fire in 1860, but on its 
site a schoolhouse modeled after the same design was im- 
mediately erected that has continued until today to be 
popularly known as Old College. The history of these 
buildings and their uses will be fully treated in another 
paper, and therefore are not enlarged upon here. 

At this point a brief inquiry in regard to the found- 
ers of the college will be appropriate. Who were they? 
What were their abilities and connections ? The limited 
time at command will permit a reference on this occa- 
sion only to those who were the most prominent, notwith- 
standing that there were other members of the board who 
in a more elaborate sketch would be entitled to special 
mention. 

It should be borne in mind that in 1783 Philadelphia 
was the foremost municipality of America, with a popu- 
lation estimated at 40,000 as compared with one-half 
that number in Boston and less than one-third that num- 
ber in New York; three years later an estimate in the 
New York Gazette credited Philadelphia with 32,205, 
New York with 24,500, and Boston with 14,640. It had 
been the capital of the confederated colonies as well as 
of the province of Pennsylvania, and had emerged from 

21 



the war as the financial and political centre of the 
youthful republic ; hence it was essential that the five 
trustees living in that city should be men of standing and 
influence. This end was accomplished by the selection 
of John Dickinson, Henry Hill, James Wilson, William 
Bingham and Dr. Benjamin Rush, all of whom possessed 
the requisite qualifications. Concerning them Dr. Rush 
wrote on July 1, 1786, "In the choice of our trustees in 
this city we have been wise and fortunate." 

John Dickinson was president of the supreme execu- 
tive council of Pennsylvania, and in selecting a name for 
the college it is likely that his was the only one con- 
sidered. A letter is extant w^ritten by Dr. Rush on 
October 15, 1782, in which he said, "Mr. Dickin- 
son will become a liberal contributor to us. I in- 
tended to have proposed to you to call the college after 
him and his worthy lady, John and Mary's College." An- 
other letter from Dr. Rush, undated but evidently writ- 
ten early in 1783, conveyed the information, "The presi- 
dent of the state, who you know is a Quaker, has given 
us a tract of land worth 600 pounds." This tract of land 
was the "very liberal donation" mentioned in the char- 
acter, and at an early date it was supplemented by the 
gift of a valuable collection of books. 

After being educated in this country Dickinson went 
to London and attended law lectures for three years in 
the Middle Temple, returning in 1757. In 1767.-68 he 
wrote a series of twelve letters addressed to his country- 
men and signed "A Farmer", which became famous as 
The Farmer's Letters. They were republished in London, 
with a preface by Franklin, and were widely read 
throughout the colonies and in England, paving the waj'- 
for the Revolution. The influence exerted by them on 
the people was unrivaled until the appearance in Janu- 
ary, 1776, of Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense", 
which swept over the country with the force of a whirl- 
wind and completed the work that the letters had begun. 
Dickinson afterwards drafted the Articles of Confed- 
eration between the colonies, was a member of the con- 
vention of 1787 that framed the Constitution of the 
United States, and made many striking contributions to 
current political discussions. 

He attended the three meetings in Philadelphia of 
the board of trustees, and the meeting in Carlisle on 
April 6, 1784, but was not present subsequently. A let- 
ter written by him to the trustees bearing date July 7, 

L>2 



1785, is framed and now hangs on the wall of the office 
of the president of the college. After making a condi- 
tional offer of land in Middleton township the writer 
added/Termit me, before I conclude, earnestly to request 
that you will be pleased to appoint some other person 
President of the Board at your next meeting, the state of 
my health putting it out of my power to attend." The 
resignation was not accepted and he retained the presi- 
dency until his death on February 14, 1808, almost 
twenty-four years after he had ceased to preside. 

In connection with the subject of attending meetings, 
it is proper to consider the slowness and hardships of 
travel to which allusion has aready been made. A meet- 
ing ordinarily lasted for three days, and as the journey 
in each direction between Philadelphia and Carlisle con- 
sumed at least two days, attendance by a resident of that 
city involved giving up a full week for the purpose. 
Herein lies the explanation of a fact disclosed by the col- 
lege minutes that President Dickinson was present at 
only one meeting in Carlisle, Dr. Rush at two, and 
Messrs. Hill, Wilson and Bingham at none. The latter 
two also failed to attend the preliminary meetings in Phil- 
adelphia. The special burdens on the college arose from 
its poverty, and the five above-named trustees were use- 
ful principally in relieving pressure from that source and 
in looking after the financial interests of the institution, 
while the local men and those living nearby attended to 
details connected with administration. 

Henry Hill was a Philadelphia wine merchant who 
engaged in extensive trading with the Island of Madeira, 
and for many years Hill's Madeira was one of the finest 
brands of wine on the market. He took part in the 
provincial conference at Carpenters' Hall in June, 1776, 
and in the constitutional convention of July-September, 
1776, and in the same year was colonel of a battalion at 
the front. From 1780 to 1784 he was a member of the 
general assembly, and from 1785 to 1788 of the supreme 
executive council. By his will, which was probated on 
November 15, 179^, he bequeathed to the college the sum 
of two hundred dollars. 

James Wilson was born in Scotland in 1742, obtained 
there a thorough university education, and emigrated to 
Pennsylvania in 1765. Having studied law with John 
Dickinson, he settled in Carlisle in 1769 for the practice 
of his profession in which he speedily achieved success. 
His residence in this town continued for ten years, dur- 

23 



ing which period he took a prominent part in public af- 
fairs and became one of the immortal signers of the Dec- 
laration of Independence. He helped to frame the con- 
stitution of the United States in 1787, and of the State of 
Pennsylvania in 1790, and attached his name to both. 
Undoubtedly he was the ablest and most distinguished 
man that ever lived in our community, and one of the 
foremost statesmen and jurists of the eighteenth century. 
Although not present at any meeting of the board, we 
may well believe that his powerful influence was exerted 
upon the general assembly in obtaining the liberal grant 
in 1786 of 500 pounds and 10,000 acres of land, and fur- 
ther grants of 1,500 pounds in 1791 and $5,000 in 
1795. Personally he donated land. His death took place 
in North Carolina on August 28, 1798, while he was a 
justice of the supreme court of the United States. In 
1906 his remains were brought to Philadelphia in a gov- 
ernment warship, and after lying in state in Independ- 
ence Hall were re-interred by the side of his wife at the 
south wall of Christ Church. 

William Bingham was born in Philadelphia in 1752 
and at the age of nineteen was sent to the West Indies as 
British consul. His term of office ended when the war 
broke out, but he remained for a few years as agent for 
congress and took advantage of opportunities that were 
presented to make an immense fortune. Having re- 
turned home he married in 1780 Anne Willing, oldest 
daughter of Thomas Willing, who was senior partner in 
the great mercantile firm of Willing and Morris. At 
that .time Bingham was reputed to be the wealthiest citi- 
zen of Pennsylvania, and his aristocratic young wife was 
one of the most beautiful and charming of women. Sev- 
eral years after their marriage Mrs. John Adams was 
introduced to them in England and was so captivated 
with Mr«^. Bingham that she characterized her in a letter 
as ''the finest woman I ever saw." Socially they were 
leaders, and for many years their magnificent home on 
Third street was the scene of entertainments on a prince- 
ly scale. 

The couple were in England when a charter was 
granted to the college in 1783, but before setting sail Mr. 
Bingham was philanthropic enough to provide for it very 
material aid. Referring to this. Dr. Rush wrote to Col. 
Montgomery on May 3, 1783, **Mr. Bingham (whose gen- 
erosity to us has excited so much jealousy) leaves 
America in a few weeks for England with his lady and 



24 



daughters. He has promised to leave his subscription 
with me." In a letter to Gen. Armstrong the Doctor 
specified the amount of the gift, ''Mr. Bingham, who is 
an Episcopalian, has subscribed 400 pounds in loan office 
certificates." This patron and trustee was a member of 
the continental congress for one year, and of the United 
States senate from 1795 to 1801. 

The outstanding figure, however, on the board of 
trustees was Dr. Benjamin Rush; to him the college owed 
its existence, and to him more than to anyone else it was 
indebted for assistance during the tragic struggles of in- 
fancy. He was born on December 24, 1745, and was 
graduated from the College of New Jersey with the de- 
gree of Bachelor of Arts before reaching his fifteenth 
birthday. Having decided to become a physician, he 
pursued the study of medicine in Philadelphia from Feb- 
ruary, 1761, to August, 1766, and then sailed for Europe 
to round out his education at the University of Edin- 
burgh. After spending nearly two years at its medi- 
cal school and several months in London, he returned 
home in July, 1769, thoroughly trained for a professional 
career. In the course of time he became the leading 
practitioner of America. 

Incidentally he was a voluminous writer of letters, 
books and theses relating to medicine, and of articles for 
the public on political, educational and other topics. He 
also kept note books and a commonplace book, and left an 
autobiography covering the first thirty-five years of his 
life. His ardent and aggressive nature repeatedly in- 
volved him in disputes, resulting at intervals in much an- 
guish of spirit, so that we may fancy him on many occa- 
sions sorrowfully murmuring the lament of Hamlet, 

"The time is out of joint : cursed spite. 
That ever I was born to set it right!" 

Several of the numerous letters written by him to 
Col. Montgomery contain a clear intimation that the plan 
for a college had its origin in a conversation between 
those two gentlemen in 1781 or 1782. One bearing date 
April 15, 1784, is addressed to Hon. John Montgomery, 
''Member of Congress at Annapolis." A postscript con- 
cludes with "All will end well. Bingham's porch." At 
the end of the postcript an asterisk directs attention to 
an appended explanation, "These words allude to the first 
conversation upon the subject of a college at Carlisle be- 
tween Jno. Montgomery and B. Rush, having taken place 

25 



at Mr. Bingham's porch." Another letter dated January 
14, 1785, says, 'The necessity and advantages of a college 
at Carlisle appear the same now to me as they did in the 
year 1782 when we first projected it." Over the figure 
2 a 1 has been drawTi in somewhat darker ink, thus caus- 
ing doubt as to which represents the correct year. In 
a third letter dated July 3, 1802, more than eighteen 
years having intervened since the earliest reference to 
the subject, the following statement occurs, "Bingham's 
porch may wear away, but the ideas conceived on it by 
two of the trustees will have their full accomplishment, 
and Dickinson College will one day be the source of light 
and Imowledge to the western part of the United States." 

This account of the genesis of the college will not be 
surprising if certain facts bearing thereon are recalled. 
Col. Montgomery had been a leading representative of 
the demand in Carlisle for higher education. His name 
was at the head of a list of nine citizens who were ap- 
pointed by the Penns in 1773 as trustees of a grammar 
school, and in the fall of 1781 he was one of a group of 
gentlemen who requested the local Presbytery to assume 
care of the school, making known at the same time their 
intention to enlarge its scope and obtain a charter for it 
as an academy. In 1782 he was a member of congress, 
which held its sessions at that time in Philadelphia, and 
in the performance of his duties must have spent many 
weeks there ; but whether the memorable conversation 
referred to took place in 1782 or in the prior year cannot 
be determined without further light, and really is of no 
moment. 

Dr Rush was a signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence and in constant touch with public affairs. 
It happened opportunely that he was hostile to those in 
authority at the University in Philadelphia, and strange 
to sav he had conceived a strong dislike to his old friend. 
Dr. John Witherspoon, president of the College of New 
Jersey. His mind therefore was in a most receptive 
mood in regard to establishing a college west of the Sus- 
quehanna, when Col. Montgomery disclosed to him the 
ambition of the trustees of the Carlisle school. Then 
and there an intimate friendship began between the par- 
ties to the interview which did not abate in fervor as the 
years rolled by, and a correspondence was started which 
continued until Col. Montgomery was called to his eter- 
nal reward on September 3, 1808, at the advanced age of 
86. On June 10, 1804, Rush closed a letter to him with, 

26 



"Adieu ! my dear and venerable friend, and be assured no 
one esteems and loves you more than your sincere and 
affectionate, Benj'n. Rush." And on May 15, 1806, he 
wrote, *1 rejoice to find your zeal in behalf of our college 
is unabated. Heaven, I have no doubt, has stores of 
blessings laid up to reward you for your great and unre- 
mitted services to that intended nursery of religion and 
learning." 

Gen. John Armstrong, who presided at the meetings 
of the board in the absence of President Dickinson, co- 
operated closely with Col. Montgomery in Carlisle in pro- 
moting the welfare of the ''intended nursery". Neither 
of them had acquired much of the learning of the schools, 
but both possessed a large stock of practical common 
sense and their minds were well poised. Armstrong for 
a long time had been the most conspicuous figure in this 
section of the state. In 1756 he commanded the troops 
that defeated the Indians at Kittanning, and from 1763 
to 1776 was the presiding justice in the courts of Cum- 
berland County. Armstrong County in the western part 
of Pennsylvania, with Kittanning as the county seat, re- 
ceived its name in commemoration of his victory over the 
Indians in 1756. When the Revolution broke out he en- 
tered the Continental army as brigadier general, then 
rose to the rank of major general, and later was sent to 
congress. He died on March 9, 1795, aged about 75 
years. Montgomery also saw service in the Indian 
wars, and during the Revolution after being captured in 
1776 and exchanged, re-entered the army as colonel of a 
battalion. He was a member of congress from 1782 to 
1784, and afterwards was an associate judge of the 
county. 

Each of these faithful trustees wrote to Dr. Rush in 
an effort to compose the differences between him and Dr. 
Nisbet, and each plainly stated his opinion that if the 
promises made to the latter by the trustees had been ful- 
filled the trouble would not have arisen. Recognizing 
the strict integrity and other splendid qualities of Dr. 
Nisbet, and that he had substantial reason to feel dissat- 
isfied with his surroundings, they were willing to over- 
look his occasional outbursts of abuse against America 
and the college ; especially so, as they were proud of his 
wonderful acquirements, and were grateful for the pat- 
ix)nage which his reputation as a scholar brought to the 
institution. 

27 



So high an authority as the Rev. Dr. Ashbel Green, 
who was president of the College of New Jersey for ten 
years, stated in a letter written in 1839 that Dr. Nisbet 
was ''beyond comparison a man of the most learning'* he 
had ever known, and that in memory and wit he always 
viewed him as a prodigy. In regard to his memory he 
added, "1 can truly say that I never myself have known 
an individual that could pretend to be his equal. Every- 
thing that he had read, heard or seen, seemed to be im- 
movably fixed in his mind and to be ready for his use." 
Hon. Hugh H. Brackenridge, of Carlisle, a justice of the 
supreme court of Pennsylvania, expressed the view in 
an unpublished memoir of the Doctor, that his informa- 
tion far surpassed that of any other man in this country 
and, as the writer conceived, of any age. Among other 
accomplishments he was master of nine languages, could 
converse and write in Latin with ease, and was so 
familiar with Greek and Latin authors that without the 
use of a book he could hear recitations in the classics and 
correct the slightest mistakes. 

Dr. Nisbet died on January 18, 1804, and Dr. Rush 
passed away on April 19, 1813, each in the 68th year of 
his age; the former doubtless the most learned man in 
America, the latter far famed as its most eminent physi- 
cian. Only four of the original board of forty trustees 
survived Dr. Rush, and long ago they also crossed the 
dark river. Nothing now remains of any of the found- 
ers but a memory — the chapter is closed, the actors all 
gone. 

"Stars silent rest o'er us; 
Graves under us silent." 



28 



LIBRARV OF CONbKt=>^ 



029 910 l^Q 1 




